


this is what you give me to work with

by VagabondDawn



Series: primped and polished [2]
Category: Mulan (1998)
Genre: Alternate take, Deleted Scene, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 13:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20228299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VagabondDawn/pseuds/VagabondDawn
Summary: Deleted Scene from ‘primped and polished till you glow with pride’. If Mushu had shown up earlier.





	this is what you give me to work with

**Author's Note:**

> I love Mushu but he just didn't fit tonally with 'primped and polished'. But he was fun to write, so here's where he _almost_ showed up.

“We’ll pray to the ancestors,” Grandmother Fa says. “We’ll pray _a lot._” 

Mulan swings Khan out of the gates before that can continue into the usual lecture and expound on the disappointment they have with how she acts and behaves. 

“We’ll write!” she hollers back. 

The cart travels slowly, but Khan is shivering with energy beneath her, ready to go, so Mulan gives him his head and they race off towards the village. It’s a familiar road, but it _feels_ different, knowing that this time they’ll follow it so much further. There will be no stopping at the grocers, no turning around at the tea house. They’ll just keep going, and going and going. 

It feels… _freeing._

“Sorry!” she calls as Khan nearly runs down Ho Chen as he wheels his cart along the road. Khan dances to the side, narrowly missing him, and Mulan calls, “It’s the last time, I promise!” 

Chen’s grumbling follows her a bit further, and she sheepishly slows down, slowing Khan to a trot. 

There’s no real _purpose_ in running ahead. She’ll have to turn around and make her way back to her father and the travelling cart. 

But not yet. 

“Psst!” A voice comes from the shrubbery beside the road. “Hey, you. On the cow!” 

Khan snorts and dances sideways, ears flickering wildly around. Mulan calms him with a pat on his neck, taking the reins more firmly in hand. 

“Hello?” she says uncertainly, and sees a flicker of red in the green bushes. “Is someone there?” 

“Is there someone _there_, she says,” the same voice continues and then— 

There’s a dragon. 

“You’re a dragon,” Mulan says. 

“I am _the _dragon,” the dragon says. “Mushu, Fa family guardian. I know, I know, you’re honoured. Let me tell you, girl, you’ve got _all_ those ancestors in a spin. So, they sent the best they had to make sure you’re a-okay.” 

Unbidden, Mulan’s eyes flick past it, to see if there is anything else lurking in the forest. 

“Me!” the dragon roars. “They sent me. Ungrateful, this is what I get. I run all morning trying to catch up with your cow and I only get _disrespect._” 

“Sorry?” Mulan says. 

It climbs down from the bushes and wanders out onto the road. The dragon is… much smaller than she expected. 

Not that she had expected _a dragon._

“Oh! You’re the incense holder!” She says, finally recognising it. She’d never paid much attention to the little hanging statue, only cleaning off the ash when the tray became too full. 

All their talk of respecting her ancestors and no one had ever told her that the incense holder could _talk_. She’d have paid a lot more attention if she’d known there was a _real dragon_ in the shrine. 

The dragon squawks. “Incense— I’m _Mushu_! Okay, okay, there was that little incident with Fa Deng but you can’t hold that against me forever.” He tries to lean against Khan’s leg. “Forgive and forget, I say.” 

Khan tries to stomp on him. 

“Hey!” Mulan slips off her horse and scoops up the little dragon. “Okay, _Mushu_. But… why are you here?” 

“You need some help, right?” Mushu asks, winding himself around her neck. “Oh yeah, no more running; that’s the style. So what’s the quest? Save China? Rescue an Emperor?” He flexes his arms. “I’m good to go!” 

Mulan decides that this is probably just going to happen now. She swings herself back up onto Khan’s back, ultra conscious of her new scarf. “No? We’re just travelling to the Imperial City,” she explains. 

“The ancestors don’t normally summon guardian spirits _just_ for travel,” Mushu says. “They’re dead! It takes a lot to get them to do anything. Rightful rest, blah blah blah, affairs of the living. You know the drill, I’m sure.” 

“I’m not in _trouble_,” Mulan repeats, maybe a little too defensively. 

“Uhuh,” the dragon says, sounding just as convinced as her parents usually do. “Well, I guess we’ll see about that.” 

By the time her father’s cart catches up, Mulan has decided to pretend nothing has happened. Even though she can feel the weight of the dragon around her neck — or climbing up and down her back, or moving around restlessly — it still seems crazy. And she thinks her father might send her home. 

The ancestors being worried enough to waken a guardian spirit seems like a _terrible_ omen. 

But Mushu’s company is nice while they travel. 


End file.
